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McLaren F1 team bosses Zak Brown and Stella pointed to opposing racers for the incident between Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the US GP sprint race.

The Australian driver, leading his teammate in the standings by twenty-two points, crashed into his team-mate after hitting Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

The collision forced out both McLaren drivers from the race, along with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Incident

Brown, the team's CEO, commented to Sky Sports that some of the racing at the front was "amateur hour", remarking: "Clearly Hulkenberg made contact with Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Andrea Stella added: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we were denied the possibility to race."

"It is unexpected that some racers with a lot of expertise don't act with justful prudence. Enter the initial turn, make sure you don't damage other drivers and carry on."

McLaren indicated that Stella was pointing to both the Sauber driver and Alonso.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

However, former champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed Piastri had not demonstrated enough awareness of the risks of the first corner of an F1 race when he chose to cut back to try to pass his teammate.

Piastri had a better start than the Briton and initially challenged on the outside on the ascending entry to the corner.

However he then cut back in an effort to get a advantage on his teammate on the exit, only to hit Hulkenberg.

Driver Reactions After the Collision

The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect but I did not see what happened, I attempted to cut back on Lando and we were both quite distant from the corner apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Norris. A shame."

His teammate said: "I just was struck, right? I was not at fault. Behind us things happened and I just was unfortunate and got hit because of it. I am unsure. I need to look a bit more carefully. It's more people behind just being a bit careless and we are the result of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I thought I was in the correct position on the inside, but some vehicles came very fast from the outside changing direction and then I was there in the middle."

The Sauber driver, who had earned a best qualifying fourth, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from the previous day in the bin. Just messy."

"Oscar steered inward pretty forcefully trying to get the undercut and way out of the first corner but I cannot vanish."

"I had Fernando attack on the inside and I couldn't see him any more. I wanted to leave space for him and then Piastri steered inward and the collision was inevitable."

Aftermath and Team Response

McLaren will review the crash with their drivers but not until the event weekend. Both cars needed significant repairs before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on the weekend.

The team principal said: "Overall displeased but we accept it, we are now concentrating on repairing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the event from there."

"We are in a competitive place from our performance point of view so I hope we have the possibility to race, race normally and utilize our capabilities."

"The points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about mal-intent, just caution. A bit more care would be good for everyone."

Standings Impact

The sprint event was won by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and 33 adrift of Norris.

The team boss said: "The implication is what the numbers show - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a very competitive car and two skilled drivers. We anticipate just some normal racing."

Verstappen said he was approaching the championship race by race.

US GP

17-19 October, with main event from 20:00 BST on Sunday

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